The present invention relates to a method of draining a fibre pulp suspension, in which method the fibre pulp suspension is applied to a dewatering space arranged between a first wire and a second wire, water and powdery substance are removed from the suspension in the dewatering space through the wires that travel in the same direction as the fibre pulp suspension, whereby the wires are arranged to travel in such a manner that the dewatering space converges from the pulp feed end towards the discharge end, and pressure pulses are generated in the fibre pulp suspension along the length of the dewatering space with pressure pulse elements that are on opposite sides of the wires relative to the fibre pulp suspension and in contact with or at a distance from the wires.
The present invention also relates to an apparatus for draining a fibre pulp suspension, the apparatus comprising a dewatering space that is defined by a first wire and a second wire travelling in its longitudinal direction and to whose one end the fibre pulp suspension is applied and, correspondingly, the fibre pulp suspension is discharged from a second end in such a manner that water is removed from the fibre pulp suspension in the dewatering space, the dewatering space being arranged between the wires, and water and powdery substance are removed through both wires, and that it comprises elements for generating pressure pulses in the fibre pulp suspension while it is in the dewatering space.
In known solutions, the fibre pulp suspension is led after the feeder chamber of the former to the former for dewatering of the fibre pulp suspension, whereby a fibre web is formed from the fibre pulp suspension in the former. The former typically comprises an upper and lower wire, a fibre pulp suspension jet being directed from the feeder chamber to the roll gap formed by the upper and lower wires. In the former, water is typically removed by recovering the water drained upwards through the wire by means of doctor blades or drainage foils. Under the lower wire is arranged a so-called forming shoe composed of for instance two separately adjustable suction chambers by means of which water is removed downwards. Against the wire, transversely to its travel direction, the forming shoe comprises drainage foils for enhancing the dewatering. The weakness of such a foil former is low dewatering capacity, which is caused by the limited capability of the dewatering elements to remove water through the wires and by the premature drainage of the fibre mat on the surface of the wires caused by the dewatering elements, whereby water is prevented from passing through the wires. For this reason, at the start, the dewatering has to be carried out extremely carefully to prevent premature drainage, and thus the dewatering area of the former has to be quite long. This makes the former large and, consequently, expensive and bulky.